Teeth and Jaws
by Lady Starscream
Summary: #1 in the Flora & Fauna series. The Decepticons have a diabolical new plan to defeat the Autobots. Scraplets! So how many ways can THIS one go wrong? Well, it would help if the scraplet wasn't completely tame.


Starscream frowned and looked over at Skywarp, sitting on another rock to his right. They'd gone for a flight, like they did every so often, to get away from the Nemesis (and a certain overly-grouchy leader).

Skywarp was the first to break the silence. "I don't see what the big deal is, personally."

Starscream sniffed "of course *you* don't. This is one of the most engenious plans I've ever come up with." he lifted the clear box to look at it's contents. a tiny robot with a large rounded head and slim almost skeletal body. The small creature sniffed the air, then turned around in it's box looking this way and that, and squeaked in query.

Thundercracker eyed it warily. "Yeah, well those things creep me out." he resisted a shudder. Starscream rolled his eyes. "It's not going to bite you." he sighed and clunked the box down on the rock next to him, eliciting a startled squeak from it's content. "And that's just the problem." he muttered.

The sound of jet engines sounded and all three readied their weapons. A muave-and-blue seeker landed and folded her arms. "chill guys, it's just me." Jade walked up, sitting on a nearby rock. The three Decepticons sat down again, although somewhat wary of their "guest".

This had been going on for a couple of weeks now. Starscream and his trine would go out (to get away from buckethead, also known (to most) as Megatron. Then Jade inevitably found them, and they ended up talking. It was a chance happening, actually. Jade had been on patrol when she crosssed paths with the seekers the first time. They had flown around shooting at each other for about a half an hour before they finally started talking. After that, twice a week, Starscream and company would 'just show up' while she was on patrol.

Then she ran across the trio on the ground, sitting around talking. Starscream was complaining (quite loudly!) about Megatron's latest plan, and Jade had an epiphany. Why not help Starscream make Megatron look like less of a leader, increasing his chances of becoming leader? It would help Starscream, and at the same time help the Autobots. Not that she actually proposed it that way. She had told Starscream in a much more convincing way. But, that's another story, to be told another time.

Of course, Skywarp was suspicious, being loyal as he is. But after a few occasions of just sitting around trading prank stories (and repeatedly telling the trio she was neutral, as a member of the Kintari), they sort of formed an uneasy truce.

So, on this occasion, she had landed, sat, and was looking over at Starscream.

"Rough week, huh?"

Skywarp rolled his optics. Thundercracker actually winced. They didn't really like to hear Starscream whine, but Jade seemed to listen. (for intel reasons, obviously.) Starscream looked over at her. "Why do you care, *Autobot*?"

 _"here we go again."_ Jade thought. "Look, I told you where I stand on that. And besides, who else listens to your problems? you know the deal, stars." Jade folded her arms.

Starscream glared for a moment, then sighed. "Megatron is an idiot. He never understands my experiments, it's all for the good of the Decepticons!"

Thundercracker interjected with "Brrrr!" and a shudder of disgust.

Jade glanced at the other seeker and one optic ridge went up. "O-kay. Well, for one, you're a scientist, and he's just an idiot for not realising how science can help. Brute force only goes so far." she shrugged.

Starscream seemed to bristle slightly. Apparently the "understanding" approach wasn't working.

"And what..." he snatched up the energon-cube-sized box "am I supposed to do with THIS?" he shook the cube as he spoke, and slammed it down on the rock next to him.

The box shattered.

Thundercracker gasped loudly and jumped up and away in alarm.

Skywarp muttered "uh-oh", and Jade was about to ask what it was when "it" jumped onto her arm.

It was about the size of her hand, silvery, four, legged with a rounded head, and...

Suddenly she realised what she was staring at. About the same time Thundercracker yelled

"THE SCRAPLET!"

Jade's mind froze.

Scraplet.

SLAG! SCRAPLET!

At the same time, the little thing opened it's mouth, displaying a gaping maw lined with about twenty rows of razor-sharp rotating teeth, with probably a good fifty or so teeth per row. It looked straight at her and... squeaked?

It hopped up and down, mouth open, squeaking like a baby bird.

Jade blinked.

"huh?"

"Awk, Awk." one appendage pointed at it's (gaping, brrr!) mouth.

Jade blinked again, then looked at Starscream.

"Uh, starscream, something you want to explain to me here?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Starscream sighed loudly. "I knew it. The stupid little thing won't even attack Autobots!" he whined.

Jade stared, mind blank. She had heard of scraplets. They were horrible flesh-eating monsters that would burrow into a mech's armor, lay their eggs, and devour a mech from the inside out. The very thought of one of these things made her shiver. Not to mention they reproduced rapidly. One turned into ten, turned into one hundred.

But yet, this thing was... She looked at it again. It's big round blue optics were pleading, like a puppy begging for a treat.

"What does this thing eat?" she ventured, Still holding her arm out away from her body. (She wasn't even sure she wanted to know.)

"Ugh. Energon." Starscream sounded horribly dissapointed.

Jade glanced at him with suprise. Then leaned back away from it (holy crap, it was climbing up her arm!) and reached for one of the energon goodies in her subspace.

She slowly reached out with the tiny slab of silicated energon, and the scraplet spotted it, jumping up and down excitedly, squeaking more rapidly, like it was begging for a treat. It's "teeth" started rotating and Jade dropped the energon into it's waiting mouth. The scraplet twittered happily and Jade froze, resisting another shudder.

It rushed over to her hand, sniffed it, then rubbed the side of it's face against her hand, as though thanking her. Jade's jaw dropped open.

"Sta-what did you do!?" she looked back up at Starscream, ignoring the insistent squeaking from her arm.

Starscream glared at the air in front of him. "Oh-so-mighty leader wanted me to design a scraplet that would only attack the Autobots. Instead, all I got was... this..." he motioned vaguely to the creature "Disfunctional scrap!"

The scraplet looked at starscream and chittered, ending in a sort-of growl." Jade chuckled at it's reaction to his tone. She brought out another energon treat. "So... it won't bite anyone?" she asked slowly, giving it an other bit of energon. (Carefully).

Starscream turned his glare on her. "Isn't that what I just said?" he stated flatly.

"Okay, okay, sorry." Jade watched the little thing crawl around her forearm, sniffing it oh-so-curiously as it went this way and that around her arm.

After a bit, she finally asked "so, this is the only one?"

Starscream rolled his optics. "unfortunately, yes, it is." He propped his head on one hand. "How am I going to tell Megatron that I failed yet again." he sighed. Jade looked at the tiny thing and then answered

"you could tell him it escaped." Starscreams optics lit up. Then she added "while you were flying over the Autobot base."

It was like a lightbulb went off over the Air Commander's head.

As if on cue, Starscream's comm. line came on, and Megatron could be heard demanding

"Starscream! Where are you!? you are supposed to be working on our latest project, not taking a vacation!"

Starscream growled, glared at the air in front of him, then answered. "I'll be back when I feel like it! I had to get out of that cramped excuse of a wreck you call a base!"

Thundercracker and Skywarp gave ech other a look that said " _He is really aiming for a beating again"_ , but kept quiet.

Megatron growled "Well your whenever had better be soon! If I have to send somebody looking for you, I'll be feeding the scraplets with your sorry hide!" and the comm clicked off.

Skywarp whistled. "You're really pushing it this time, screamer."

Starscream snarled "I don't care! Megatron has NO respect for my hard work and research on this project. The least he can do is give me some time to get out of that wreck and THINK!"

Thundercracker stood. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not risking Megatron's anger. I'll see you back at the base." Skywarp also stood."You're on your own, screamer."

Meanwhile, Jade was still feeding the scraplet bits of silicated energon, and by now it had made it's up to her shoulder. She really wasn't sure she trusted this thing, but so far it hadn't done anything. To be safe, though, she wasn't letting it any further up. That would be dangerously close to vital fuel lines in the neck area.

Starscream sighed. "Fine." He gave Jade a look. "I hope it bites you." And before she could protest, the three had taken off.

"Hey wait!"

But they were allready gone. Jade groaned. "What am I going to do with you?" she put her hand in front of ...it, and it crawled onto it. She brought the little thing down to eye level.

It seemed content to sit there, blue optics half-lidded, seeming sated by the concentrated energon goodies.

The femme jet shook her head. "Well, guess we're about to find out."

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END NOTES:

Sorry for any spelling and/or formatting errors. I had to upload and edit this via cellphone.

Tiny keys suck for editing.

Reviews are much appreciated and help keep me motivated to write.

(Okay, okay, so I live for reviews. But anyway...)

More will be up soon, hopefully!


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